More than half of U.S. dog owners expressed concerns about vaccinating their dogs, including against rabies, according to a new study published Saturday in the journal Vaccine. The study comes as anti-vaccine sentiments among humans have exploded in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Pets are now often considered to be a member of the family, and their health-care decisions are weighed with the same gravity. But the consequences of not vaccinating animals can be just as dire as humans. Dogs, for example, are responsible for 99% of rabies cases globally. Rabies, which is often transmitted via a bite, is almost always fatal for animals and people once clinical signs appear. A drop in rabies vaccination could constitute a serious public health threat.
In the new study, the authors surveyed 2,200 people and found 53% had some concern about the safety, efficacy or necessity of canine vaccines. Nearly 40% were concerned that vaccines could cause dogs to develop autism, a theory without any scientific merit.
I agree with your sentiment, but the quote is from Corolanius. Marcius (a Roman general) is cursing his own men for retreating from an assault upon an enemy city. He’s very upset.
Hmmm, no doubt you’re correct now that I read it in context. I can’t place exactly where I got this notion from and my Google fu is not finding it. It was a piece online somewhere about Shakespearean concepts as to the lives of commoners in his time, including plague, through his works.